Every End is a New Beginning
by CatchHellBlues
Summary: They watched her as she slept, bruises painting her face in shades of purple and blue. War was no place for a girl in ballet slippers.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi everyone...I decided to post a short introduction to what will eventually become a very complicated story...this first chapter serves to test the waters, see what you all think, and make improvements from there. So, as always, please review...I'm basing when I post the next chapter on how much feedback I get for this one. **

**Enjoy, and thank you for reading! **

**(I don't own Band of Brothers or any of its characters. My stories are always based solely on the miniseries and the actors on the show; I hold the utmost respect for the real men of Easy Company and these stories in no way are meant to reflect them or their families.)**

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><p>Amsterdam, August 1944<p>

A man purses his lips around a cigarette, eyes locked on the fair-skinned beauty up on stage. Her strawberry blonde hair swings in rhythm with her hips, her body swaying sensually to a smooth American jazz song she's never heard before. Her emerald eyes tease him behind thick lashes as she trails her hands slowly over the red silk of her dress. She pouts her painted lips seductively, stepping closer to the edge of the stage towards him. The black beads attached to the hem of her dress tickle her thighs with every move she makes. His body shakes with an unsettling cackle as he takes her in, causing the metals pinned to his breast pocket to clang against each other.

He turns to the uniformed men around him, shouting crude obscenities in German and eliciting a roar of laughter and hollering. He throws back what is left of his whiskey and eyes the young girl hungrily, licking his lips and making her stomach churn. He's had enough of her teasing.

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><p>Everything is going according to plan, yet her body trembles and she clutches her fur coat tighter against her body. He wraps his arm around her shoulders but it is not meant to be tender; for the night, he owns her. He guides her into the back seat of a waiting car, his hand resting on her thigh as he motions towards the driver. "Back to my quarters," he commands, taking a drag of his cigarette. "I won't be in need of you until morning, Hans," he adds, looking down on her with a smirk. He isn't aware that she understands his language, or that she knows exactly who he is. Hans nods without turning around; he never sees who his boss's toy for the night is.<p>

The girl's eyes move to the swastika on the man's left arm, and she bites the inside of her cheek to contain her rage. She turns to look back at the club one last time as the car pulls away. She no longer trembles; his fate is sealed.

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><p>She stands at the foot of the bed with her dress in a pool around her ankles and black lingerie covering her petite frame. He motions from the bed for her to join him, his uniform hung over a chair in the corner, and his tie hanging loosely around his neck over a white button-down. He wets his lips in anticipation. His dark hair, that had once been slicked back neatly, now falls in greasy strands across his forehead.<p>

She lies back on the bed as he removes her lace garter and stockings. He holds her leg in the air and plants rough kisses down her calf, pausing when she sits upright. She turns him around so that he is bent on his knees and facing away from her. He chuckles in delight at her sudden aggressiveness, and her lips move to his neck.

Her hands travel to her back while her tongue draws circles on his flesh. She reaches under the unusually thick strap of her lingerie, finding the compartment she had sewn into it earlier. There she claims a small Swiss knife.

Her lips leave his skin, but his eyes remain closed and his mouth in a smug grin. Her free hand teases him as she trails her fingers down his shirt.

"_If only you had paid attention, Love…you would've seen what was coming to you_…" she whispers into his ear in perfect German, his eyes flying open just as she glides the knife across his neck.

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><p>She cleans her knife with the jacket of his uniform and tears the swastika from the sleeve. One of his cigarettes dangles from her lips as she turns the patch over in her hands. She crosses the room, her heels clicking along the wooden floor, to where the man lies dead. She looks him over as she puts the cigarette out in the ash tray next to the bed.<p>

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><p>The next morning, his driver finds him, his white shirt drenched with blood and a swastika placed over his heart. On the nightstand he finds a cigarette, its white shaft stained with red lipstick.<p> 


	2. Arnhem

**A/N: So, I do sincerely apologize for how long this took me to post...I had a whole chapter completed and ready to go- but then I deleted the entire thing and started fresh! I really have not decided what I think of this chapter...it's definitely not as I had hoped it would be considering the amount of time I put into it, and it is certainly much shorter than I had anticipated, but I do plan on making future chapters longer as we go on. **

**Thank you so much for the reviews on the first chapter, I loved reading your feedback and thoughts. Please continue to review, let me know exactly what you think! I'm open to change and revision, so do not hesitate in voicing your opinions.**

Arnhem, Holland, August 1944

Annika stepped towards the familiar stone cottage under a menacing gray sky. It was already the early hours of a new day, far later than she was meant to return from her assignment.

She reached up and dragged her fingers through her chestnut waves, attempting to free her hair of the knots that the wind had caused. All traces of her adopted identity had been discarded at an Amsterdam train station, the blonde wig tossed among the dark shrubbery along the tracks. She had burned the red dress until there was nothing left of it; she hoped it would be enough to destroy the girl she had pretended to be. Somewhere underneath the layers of characters and personas she had created stood who she really was…but she hadn't seen that girl for quite a while, and she didn't know if she ever would again.

She raised her head towards the sky, closing her eyes. The first drops of rain against her cheek sent Annika unwillingly forward, and she cast a quick but thorough glance around her to ensure no one was watching as she climbed into a dimly lit cellar.

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><p>She was greeted immediately by a cloud of cigarette smoke and the powerful stench of liquor, the combination serving as an unwelcome reminder of the lounge she had been in earlier. She swore she could see their faces staring up at her again, their smirks curving against whiskey glasses. A sickening chill weaved up and down her spine, making her knees weaken below her.<p>

"Where the hell have you been, Annika? We expected you back hours ago!" She heard him before she could see him through the thick veil of smoke, yet she knew exactly who was chastising her from across the room.

Unfazed, she faced the man, his body slowly taking form as he stepped closer. His deep blue eyes reflected a mixture of both deep concern and anger.

"You're right, Pieter, I apologize. Perhaps next time you can seduce and assassinate a Nazi officer yourself? Then we can all be sure it is done exactly right," she rolled her eyes and lit a cigarette, sitting down at the table in the center of the cellar. Four other men already sat in a game of cards, each seemingly oblivious to the tense interaction between Annika and Pieter.

Pieter ignored her remark and eyed her expectantly, cursing when she didn't look up from her hand. "Christ, Annika, will you inform us of what happened or shall I ask the Oberführer myself?"

She tossed in a card, not meeting Pieter's gaze. "It's done, of course. Just as planned. A clean cut, right across the son of a bitch's neck," she swiped her finger across her own neck for effect, causing Pieter to run a hand through his shaggy blonde hair in frustration.

"You treat this as if it's a joke, Annika! You don't seem to realize the significance of what we've accomplished-"

"We?" she scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him. "It's funny; I don't remember seeing any of you up there on that stage with me."

The men around her bowed their heads in shame, and Pieter shook his head, frowning at her. His gaze softened with regret, and he lowered his voice. "Ana, you know we didn't want this for you, but we didn't have a choice. How were we supposed to get close enough to him using any other way? It was the only option."

She looked away, his apologetic stare suddenly making her uncomfortable. She waved a hand, dismissing what he had said, and put out her cigarette. "Well, either way, it's been taken care of."

Pieter nodded slowly, biting his lip in concentration. "His body has been found by now, there's no doubt about that. Was there a guard stationed outside the door?"

Ana shook her head, and Pieter continued with his evaluation. "That's interesting…a high ranking officer such as himself, and no guard? It's almost as if they were begging for something to happen to him."

Ana shrugged indifferently, slightly irritated with Pieter's constant analyzing. As far as she was concerned, the goal had been achieved and there was no need to pick apart and discuss every detail of what she had done. Just when she thought she could finally breathe, Pieter was forcing her back into the dark abyss, drowning her in memories she wanted so badly to forget.

"The entire Schutzstaffel will be on alert now, which means you must be too. They won't rest until they find who is responsible, Ana. It matters now more than ever where you go…who you speak to…and what you do," he urged, his eyes widening slightly as they pierced hers.

"You seem to forget that I've been doing this just as long as you have, Pieter. I know what I'm doing," she stood from the table, letting her cards drop in front of her. "And I don't wish to discuss this any further." She turned sharply on her heel, and ascended the stairs before Pieter could stop her.

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><p>The rain fell steadily now, and the water seeped between the cracks in the cobblestone street as Annika hurried towards the church. The lamps along the street casted eerie figures that had her quickening her step, and she was relieved when she entered the town square. Light filtered through the stained glass windows of the old church, and Ana stopped for a moment. The rain soaked through her thin cloak, but she felt more at ease than she had in weeks.<p>

The church was empty but still Ana felt as if she wasn't alone. The walls groaned around her, and the wooden pew creaked under her. Her hand instinctively crept closer to her thigh, where strapped under her garter was her knife. The church had been the only place she ever felt safe, but the demons had found her as they always did. Her mind would never cease to be haunted by shadows; there would never be an escape. She squeezed her eyes tight, a single tear falling as she dropped to her knees.

She prayed until the morning came, when the sun fought to shine through the clouds. There hadn't been a clear day since the war began, but Ana didn't mind. The sun would only bring hope…would only make her consider for a moment that perhaps some part of her soul had been left untainted by war.

Why should the sun shine on the back of the prisoner as he marches, so weak and tortured he has forgotten what it feels to be human? Why should the sun burn through the uniforms of soldiers forced into a war that was never meant to be fought?

A rough nudge to her shoulder stirred Ana from her thoughts, and she realized she was standing in the middle of the town square. It was crowded now, as the villagers hurried past her to finish their business under the watch of German guards. Since the occupation, the townspeople had spent less and less time outside of their homes. They had all seen what the Nazis had done to the Jews in town less than a year earlier; they all knew what the monsters were capable of.

They all knew, yet no one said a word. They went to the markets every morning, and went home every afternoon, where they stayed for the rest of the night. They all thought it better to let the monsters take what they wanted then to go against them.

But what would happen when there was nothing left to take?


End file.
